Deck 15: Work, Consumption, and the Economy

Question 1

In 1810, what percentage of the U.S.workforce worked in agriculture?

A)84%
B)60%
C)48%
D)17%

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following are economically productive activities that do not result directly in physical products?

A)goods
B)services
C)interests
D)stocks

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is the social institution that organizes the way society produces, distributes, and consumes goods and services?

A)the stock market
B)the economy
C)the government
D)the military-industrial complex

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of following is true of mass production?

A)Mass production reduces efficiency but improves safety conditions.
B)Each individual worker is responsible for putting entire products together from start to finish.
C)Mass production results in the development of large numbers of identical components and products.
D)Mass production increases cost.

Question 5

Who introduced modern mass production and the use of assembly lines in the early 1900s?

A)Henry Ford
B)Frederick Taylor
C)Karl Marx
D)George Ritzer

Question 6

Which of the following developed alongside the rise of industrial capitalist society?

A)automation
B)the production of agricultural surpluses
C)cottage industries
D)new economic classes

Question 7

The Industrial Revolution began in which country?

A)United States
B)Germany
C)France
D)England

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a means of production?

A)factories
B)the bourgeoisie
C)scientific management
D)mass production

Question 9

Marx and Engels believed that the exploitation of wage labor by capitalists would ______.

A)cause profits to plummet
B)increase job security for the proletariat
C)improve conditions and opportunities for the proletariat
D)end in revolution and the end of private ownership of the means of production

Question 10

Which of the following sociologists first described the concept of a reserve army of labor?

A)Auguste Comte
B)Karl Marx
C)Max Weber
D)Pierre Bourdieu

Question 11

Which of the following is considered a good?

A)productive industries
B)mass production
C)an automobile
D)Fordism

Question 12

"Taylorism" is another term for which of the following?

A)reserve army of labor
B)industrial capitalism
C)scientific management
D)social stratification

Question 13

Shoe shinning, working a cash register, and repairing a car are examples of which of the following?

A)goods
B)services
C)economies
D)industries

Question 14

Which of the following is true of the agricultural revolution?

A)It decreased human productivity over that of earlier hunting, gathering, and pastoral societies.
B)It was spurred by the development of innovations such as mass production and scientific management.
C)The majority of people in agricultural societies produced surplus crops.
D)The economic role of merchants emerged.

Question 15

What led Karl Marx and Friedrich to posit that the two classes--the bourgeoisie and the proletariat--to come into conflict?

A)the modern division of labor
B)the poor conditions of 19th-century English factories
C)the efficiency of mass production
D)the publication of Winslow Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management

Question 16

Who wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party?

A)Henry Ford
B)Max Weber
C)Frederick Winslow Taylor
D)Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Question 17

Ciara has been offered an entry-level position in marketing.She tries to negotiate her salary, but is in a weak bargaining position due to the large number of qualified applications.Her situation reflects which of the following concepts?

A)mass production
B)industrialization
C)scientific management
D)reserve army of labor

Question 18

A craftsman who makes baskets at home engages in a(n) ______ industry.

A)subsistence
B)machine
C)agricultural
D)cottage

Question 19

By 1960, what percentage of the U.S.workers labored in agriculture?

A)1%
B)8%
C)27%
D)49%

Question 20

Which of the following was a consequence of scientific management?

A)Workers were de-skilled and more vulnerable to layoffs.
B)Productivity decreased.
C)Factory managers lost control of the production process.
D)Workers became more difficult to replace.

Question 21

Which of the following terms refers to the practice among U.S.companies of contracting with businesses outside the country to perform services that would otherwise be done by U.S.workers?

A)globalization
B)flexible production
C)outsourcing
D)offshoring

Question 22

Microsoft's use of "permatemps" is an example of ______.

A)automation
B)outsourcing
C)offshoring
D)"just-in-time" delivery systems

Question 23

Which of the following describes post-Fordism?

A)reliance on more flexible, less standardized forms of production
B)reliance on outsourcing and offshoring
C)reliance on contracted work
D)reliance on symbolic analysts

Question 24

The replacement of human labor with machines is called which of the following?

A)mass production
B)automation
C)flexible production
D)offshoring

Question 25

Which of the following companies is most likely to be "headcount-efficient?"

A)General Motors
B)Chrysler
C)U.S.Steel
D)Snapchat

Question 26

The passage of the Wagner Act in 1935 prompted an increase in ______.

A)manufacturing
B)privatization
C)unionization
D)automation

Question 27

Which of the following is not characteristic of postindustrial economies?

A)increasing numbers of low-wage, part-time jobs
B)a decreased emphasis on education
C)an increased reliance on outsourcing and offshoring
D)the growth of automation and flexible production

Question 28

Arlie Russell Hochschild used the term ______ to describe the commodification of emotions.

A)emotional labor
B)the future of work
C)the service industry
D)the technological revolution

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of automation?

A)the manufacturing of identical commodities on a mechanical assembly line
B)the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas
C)contracting U.S.workers to do a job for less pay than a company employee would earn
D)robots performing tedious and dangerous work

Question 30

The invention of the ______ spurred the information revolution.

A)cell phone
B)microchip
C)Internet
D)personal computer

Question 31

Of the following, who would be considered a symbolic analyst?

A)an artist who paints abstract landscapes
B)an industrial worker who assembles automobiles
C)a flight attendant with highly developed people skills
D)an engineer who develops medical technologies

Question 32

A recent article on robot surgeons highlighted which of the following?

A)Robots are generally ineffective at complex analytical and technological tasks.
B)Robots are better at many tasks than humans.
C)Robots are generally not trusted by patients.
D)Robots reduce headcount efficiency.

Question 33

Where has job growth been concentrated in the modern U.S.economy?

A)agriculture
B)manufacturing
C)the government
D)the service sector

Question 34

Which of the following is true of the service sector?

A)Most positions require extensive education or training.
B)A growing fraction of positions are part-time rather than full-time.
C)A growing fraction of positions are unionized.
D)Quite a few of these jobs are often viewed as "men's jobs."

Question 35

Which of the following is true of the industrial laborer today?

A)The industrial laborer is more likely to belong to a union.
B)The industrial laborer is more likely to have appreciable job security.
C)The industrial laborer is more likely to have experienced a decline in wages and benefits.
D)The industrial laborer is more likely to be a member of the middle class.

Question 36

What step did Henry Ford take to improve opportunities for workers on his Model T assembly line?

A)He paid his workers $5 a day.
B)He offered workers a pension.
C)He offered maternity and paternity leave.
D)He offered continuing education classes.

Question 37

Which term often describes low-cost foreign labor?

A)outsourcing
B)post-Fordism
C)globalization
D)knowledge workers

Question 38

Which of the following is considered a service sector position?

A)computer scientist
B)cell phone sales rep
C)automobile factory worker
D)farmer

Question 39

Which of the following best represents a sociological understanding of economic systems?

A)Nearly all countries display a mix of economic systems, not purely capitalist, socialist, or communist.
B)The majority of societies have a communist economic system.
C)The United States and other similarly developed countries have a purely capitalist economic system.
D)Socialism relies more heavily on a service economy.

Question 40

According to Arlie Hochschild, which of the following is true of emotional laborers?

A)They are not allowed to suppress negative feelings, particularly when poor behavior on the part of a customer evokes frustration.
B)Their physical strength is the most important part of their work.
C)Their labor has no exchange value.
D)They are alienated from their emotional lives.

Question 41

Which of the following is true of communism?

A)It eliminates economic inequality in its ideal-typical form.
B)It is a transitional form of economic organization between capitalism and socialism.
C)Its primary motive is profit.
D)It emphasizes private ownership of the means of production.

Question 42

Which of the following is true of the 1970s?

A)The real value of workers' pay rose dramatically.
B)Consumption continued to decline.
C)Consumption continued to rise, driven by gains income.
D)Consumption continued to rise, driven by the growing credit card markets.

Question 43

Which of the following would not typically be managed by the government under a socialist system?

A)religious institutions
B)hospitals
C)housing
D)meat factories

Question 44

Which of the following is characteristic of socialism?

A)minimizing the government's role in economic decision-making
B)efforts to keep wages low
C)unregulated markets
D)elimination of extreme poverty

Question 45

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union and its socialist allies in Eastern Europe, nearly one third of the world's population lived in ______ countries.

A)industrialist
B)communist
C)capitalist
D)socialist

Question 46

Which of the following is true of work?

A)It excludes paid labor in the factory or office.
B)It excludes unpaid labor at home.
C)It includes volunteer work in the community.
D)It includes hobbies pursued purely for personal pleasure.

Question 47

Which of the following is true of the formal economy?

A)It is not regulated by government institutions.
B)It excludes self-employment.
C)It is what people ordinarily have in mind when they refer to work.
D)It has decreased in significance since the Industrial Revolution.

Question 48

Which of the following is an example of market patriotism?

A)a manufacturing company profiting off a military contract
B)citizen-consumers spending money to stimulate the economy after a disaster
C)individuals saving money to invest in educational credentials
D)a government asking its citizens to join the military during war

Question 49

Which of the following would not be considered an activity in the informal or underground economy?

A)gambling in Las Vegas
B)holding a summer yard sale
C)selling pirated movies on eBay
D)selling homemade alcohol to friends

Question 50

Which of the following is true of capitalist systems?

A)They emphasize highly regulated markets.
B)They emphasize private economic decision-making about the goods and services that should be produced.
C)Governments play a minor role in shaping economic life.
D)They reject mass production.

Question 51

Robert Reich posited that the consumption-driven economy originated in a ______ between workers and employers.

A)basic bargain
B)stalemate
C)reference group
D)means of production

Question 52

Which of the following is an example of a public-sector job?

A)engineer at Snapchat
B)flight attendant at American Airlines
C)attorney at the State Department
D)janitor at Walmart

Question 53

Which of the following is true of the underground or informal economy?

A)Few of us ever participate in it.
B)All income-generating activities in the informal economy are illegal.
C)It's larger in advanced countries than in developing economies.
D)Disproportionate numbers of low-income, female, and immigrant people work in it.

Question 54

An economic system in which, theoretically, the government manages the economy in the interests of the workers is referred to as ______.

A)communism
B)federalism
C)socialism
D)capitalism

Question 55

What is the largest remaining socialist country in the world today?

A)India
B)Russia
C)South Africa
D)China

Question 56

Which of the following is an example of a private-sector job?

A)accountant at General Electric
B)cop at the Chicago Police Department
C)teacher at the Boston Public School system
D)postal worker at the U.S.Postal Service

Question 57

Which type of society is most likely to feature a barter economy?

A)hunting and gathering
B)agricultural
C)industrial
D)postindustrial

Question 58

Which of the following would not be considered work?

A)playing a guitar in your backyard
B)feeding and diapering one's baby
C)volunteering at a nursing home
D)writing campaign letters at your unpaid internship

Question 59

Juliet Schor argued that consumption patterns in the United States are heavily driven on American's reliance on ______.

A)the government
B)market patriotism
C)reference groups
D)social media

Question 60

Which of the following is true of George Ritzer's concept of the means of consumption?

A)It rejects Marx's concept.
B)It distinguishes between the end product and the means of production that allows us to obtain the good.
C)It asserts that consumption is devoid of spontaneity, spirituality, or surprise.
D)It is a modern instrument of control not of the consumer, but of the worker.

Question 61

Although work in the manufacturing sector has declined, it still makes up about a third of the total labor market in the United States.

Question 62

Which of the following is an example of the race to the bottom?

A)a garment company moving its manufacturing operations to Bangladesh
B)a garment company cutting costs by sourcing cheaper fabrics
C)a garment company lowering wages in response to increased job applications
D)a garment company advertising online instead of in print

Question 63

Companies engaged with digital networking are the most financially valuable firms in the global economy.

Question 64

The term Fordism is sometimes used to describe scientific management.

Question 65

Which of the following is true of the global market for labor?

A)Corporate executive salaries have increased.
B)The global wage is higher than U.S.workers are accustomed to receiving for virtually any job.
C)It does not include professional and technical occupations.
D)Companies are becoming less likely to relocate jobs in search of lower labor costs.

Question 66

Which of the following is characteristic of shallow economic integration?

A)Corporations are multinational rather than just national.
B)Raw materials may be sourced in one country and shipped to another for production.
C)Most countries do business with other countries.
D)A single product is made in a single country.

Question 67

Unionization slowed down after the Great Depression.

Question 68

Which of the following is true of corporate executive salaries?

A)Globalization has had some negative effects on earnings for corporate executives.
B)Corporate executive salaries have skyrocketed.
C)Median CEO pay increased slightly during the recession.
D)Median CEO pay has declined somewhat in the postcrisis period.

Question 69

The most well-known and visible companies today have the largest number of workers.

Question 70

Which of the following is the true of the new economic order?

A)The U.S.economic order today has been powerfully affected by the emergence of a stratified economic system.
B)The United States is an isolated economic unit.
C)In many respects, the world is a single economic unit.
D)Economic integration is becoming more shallow.

Question 71

During the Industrial Revolution, factories were replaced by cottage industries.

Question 72

Which of the following is characteristic of deep economic integration?

A)It is typical of the globalization of several decades ago.
B)Countries are less interdependent.
C)All of the manufacturing of a product is done in one country.
D)Management and sales might be located in different countries.

Question 73

Being a nurse or a flight attendant requires a high degree of emotional labor.

Question 74

In 2017, the average CEO pay was ______ times the annual average pay of their workers.

A)10
B)27
C)127
D)271

Question 75

What is the global wage?

A)the global average wage
B)the global minimum wage established by the United Nations
C)the wage equivalent to the lowest worldwide cost of obtaining labor for a particular task
D)the wage equivalent to the average worldwide cost of obtaining labor for a particular task

Question 76

Which of the following refers to when companies seek to maximize profits by chasing opportunities to locate wherever conditions are most likely to result in the lowest costs?

A)race to the bottom
B)globalization
C)deep integration
D)short integration

Question 77

Laissez-faire capitalism literally means hands-off capitalism.

Question 78

Nike, Apple, and Ford are all brands with globalized labor force.They reflect which of the following?

A)deep integration
B)shallow integration
C)an isolated economic society
D)cottage industries

Question 79

Which of the following is true of the early 21st century?

A)Consumption was the direct cause of bankruptcies.
B)Financial reforms in 2015 made the declaration of bankruptcy much easier and more common.
C)The financial crisis in 2017 saw another rise of bankruptcies.
D)Car debt increasingly became a burden.

Question 80

Shallow integration is more characteristic of which of the following time periods?

A)the agricultural revolution
B)the industrial revolution
C)the globalization of several decades ago
D)the globalization of today